The Canine Advantage
by dancingtothebeatles
Summary: "It was then that I realized I was looking up at Sirius, my face was snuggled up into his stomach, his legs were under my head and I felt a small blanket of some sort around my shoulders. But the part that scared me the most… I liked it. AAAARRRGGGHHH!"
1. I run smack into Mr Hotstuff!

**So… This is **_**another **_**Sirius/OC. Yep. You heard right. I'm sorry! I'm just obsessed with him :O Right so I've been tossing this idea around for quite some time. Hope you like! Yes? REVIEW!**

"Phoenix Calypso Kent! Get your _pa-too-tee_ down here or you'll miss the train!"

I know, what a name. What were my parents thinking?

Greek. They were thinking in Greek.

Phoenix is a stupid Greek fire bird and Calypso means 'legendary sea nymph'. If you're wondering what on earth a sea nymph is, ask my parents, the Greek mythology crazies (well… I'm required to call them professors). But then they'd launch into another lecture on the importance of the nymph in the modern world. The only thing that isn't old or weird about my name is the fact that a sea nymph is on the Starbucks logo. But that logo's weird anyway so it doesn't count.

"GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT! STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR HAIR AND _LET'S LEAVE!" _my mother's screams continued.

Ugh… doesn't she realize it takes time to make myself look mildly presentable?

"NIX! We have to leave now! It's ten-thirty!" I heard my older brother's aggravated voice calling from the hallway.

My hair, a shimmering auburn that sits in long ringlets, was as usual, a mess. I sighed, choosing to focus on my best feature—my eyes. They're so deep blue they look purple. And they're large. Very large. Like a scared deer.

"NIX!"

I quickly pinned up two curly strands and I stood.

"You take for-ev-er to get ready!" my seventh year brother, Alexander, said between reverberating hits to the door. I 'lovingly' call Alexander "Pizza" because of a certain incident in an Italian restaurant called The Luna Rosa in London.

I tossed my muggle backpack over my shoulder, crossed the room in easy strides and flung open the door suddenly. Pizza paused mid-sentence, his mouth hanging slack. His caramel hair was cut decently short and he'd semi-spiked it in the front. His tall stature was accentuated by muscles from all those hours on the Quidditch pitch. His easy smile was masked by surprise and his shining blue eyes were wide open with momentary alarm.

"Finished!" I called cheerily to him and shut the door behind me with a snap. "You can move now, Pizza," I teased and poked him in the stomach. He jerked away and glared at me playfully.

"KIDS! TO THE CAR!" my mother's voice echoed through the large house.

I dashed back inside my small room to snatch my stuffed trunk. I took a last fleeting glance at my room. Posters of all sorts—Chudley Cannons moving posters, muggle dance posters, pictures famous paintings blown up to extreme detail, "Save the endangered Red Pandas" posters—filled my green-painted wall space. Stray socks, candy wrappers, dirty clothes and other random items littered the floor. Books were stacked haphazardly on almost every surface. The window facing east had the curtains drawn so that the sun filtered through them and bathed the room in mesmerizing green glow.

"You're forgetting something pretty important, Nix," Pizza said mockingly with an evil smirk.

"What?" I cried, looking down wildly, making sure I remembered to put my pants on.

"God, you're thick," he said, pushing past me into my room. He stood at the window seat, pointing at something… something…

My dog!

How could I forget my dog? He weighs more than I do and I'm built like a quiddich player.

"C'mon, Bear! Here boy!" I said slapping my leg. He lifted his majestic head and the light played off it like he himself was the sun. His melted chocolate eyes were glazed over with sleep and every strand his white, fluffy, signature Great Pyrenees Mountain Dog fur was shining. Bear decided he didn't want to get left and stood, shook himself off (sending fine, short hair floating everywhere) and hopped down from the window seat, light on his padded paws.

"CAR!" shrieked my mom again. "NOW!"

"The mother calls," said Pizza and he steered me out of the doorway.

We found the source of the screaming at the base of the stairs. My mum stood in the foyer, her bony hands on her hips in that signature mother way. Her dyed (yet strangely natural looking) hair was falling out of her ponytail in misbehaving strands. She was a plump woman, and short. Her good-natured face was present in all of my most fond childhood memories. She is a good mother. Sweet, kind, caring, gentle, loving—like all mothers in this world should be. But she had her rules and those rules ought to be followed, whether you like it or not.

"Get to the car! Your father is waiting!" she said as we mounted the stairs. Pizza, who had been seventeen for a month, was now well over-age, so he levitated my trunk down the stair in head of us. Bear trotted down behind the trunk, staring at it quirkily.

"Hurry! Hurry!" she said again, waving her hands emphatically.

"We're hurrying! We're hurrying!" I said in defense. We finally reached her and I pulled my trunk along by its top handle.

"Oh, do hurry, Calypso!" said Mum as she trotted beside me. My mum was dead-set on naming me Calypso, but my dad hated it. "She imprisoned Odysseus! She was a titan's daughter!" was his argument. I hate it either way. My mum dug her heels in; however, saying I was beautiful like a nymph. It was settled that would be my middle name and my father was at liberty to choose my first. That's how I ended up with a crazy name like "Phoenix" and the insane combination "Phoenix Calypso".

We finally reached the garage and the car was already started. My father and younger sister, Selene, were already buckled in.

"Oh…" moaned mum. "You'll surely miss it!"

"Don't pop a blood vessel, mum!" said Pizza and pecked her on the cheek.

"Ba-bye, Alexander, Calypso! Love you!" mum said hugging us tightly.

"Love you, too, Mum!" we said simultaneously.

Pizza hefted my suitcase into the trunk of the car where my siblings' were already.

"Shotgun!" Pizza called. "No…" I moaned. "I get all carsick in the back seat!"

"Alex! Let your sister in the front!" my mum scolded.

With considerable complaining, he obliged and we re-said our goodbyes and climbed into the car. Pizza had to literally fold himself up to get into the backseat. Bear hopped into the vacant seat in the back. My tall, broad-shouldered father inclined his head towards me. His rectangular glasses caught a glare as he considered me teasingly.

"Ready?" he said energetically.

"Absolutely!" I replied with a smile.

"Took you long enough!" Selene interjected. Dad started the car and the rather small red Volkswagen hatchback began to vibrate underneath me. He opened the garage and began to back out.

"Yeah. In four years it'll take you twice as long, Renny," I said, craning my head around the tan leather headrest. She scoffed and rolled down the window to say more goodbyes. Lenny is in second year and is quite the… well… girl. A girly girl. It drives me crazy. I guess all younger sisters do.

Of course, my dad being a muggle, my father had to drive to the station. It took for-ev-er! Though thankfully, I heard Pizza muttering different charms and 'incredibly' afterwards a light would turn green or a slow car pick up the pace or an old lady with a walker suddenly decided she didn't have to cross the street. Just like magic! (**A/N: quote—Lockhart; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets**)

By the time we reached the station, it was ten-till-eleven. The whole Kent family burst out of the Volkswagen, grabbed a trolley and high-tailed it to Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. We didn't even stop between platforms nine and ten, I just continued running at break-neck speed through the barrier. Very incognito.

Even after six times of melting through that solid brick wall, I still freak out when I don't crash into the wall. I blame the muggle in me. So I burst through the barrier screaming my head off. And because I'm the fastest of my family, I was the first through. Yeah. Back to the screaming. I was screaming myself hoarse and I melted through the barrier.

**Note to self: When entering Platform 9 3/4, speed is not lost when going through barrier.**

And let me tell you, you can pick up some wicked speed on those trolleys. I was sent into the familiar back abyss of travelling from London to Platform 9 ¾ and –

BAM!

I heard strong cuss words I would get yelled at for saying and I opened my eyes. I was sprawled on the concrete ground, my trolley cart tipped over, my trunk busted open and Bear standing by, a look that said he thought this was the most hilarious thing ever. What the heck did I hit?

I heard more cussing and, "Get off me, idiot!"

I realized I was on someone.

"Oh! Sorry!" I said, jumping up and dusting myself off. The rest of my family was entering behind me but they all managed to swerve out of the way before hitting us. I looked down to see another person's junk laid out much in the same way as mine was—everywhere. But when I saw who it was, I started freaking out.

Sirius Black.

Sirius freaking God's-gift-to-all-women-ages-12-to-22 Black.

Oh.

My.

Merlin.

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	2. Bearly get by

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Sirius Black.

I've been to school with him six years, but I don't really _know _him. I'm not really into that worshiping a guy stuff, either. It's like Justin Bieber or Enrique Iglesias—if you had the chance to meet/date them, you would jump on it but if not, _whatever._ But, let me tell you, even on the ground, covered in dirt, smashed by my not-so-tiny self and all my stuff… he _still_ looked smokin'!

So I won't even pretend my heart didn't skip a beat when his eyes met mine.

Even though he was furious.

I helped him up and we gathered our stuff in angered silence while my family behind us made comments like "Wow. Big fail," from Serena and "Nice job, Nix! Injuring someone before we even _get _to Hogwarts!" from Pizza. I'm a notorious klutz.

"We'll never make it! Thanks, Kent," Sirius growled. I took a few angry steps towards him.

"Hey! You can't blame me! _You _were the one in the way!" I said, drawing myself up to my full height, which unfortunately, especially under Sirius, wasn't much.

"But if _you _hadn't come sprinting in like a maniac and ramming into people, this never would've happened!" he glared down at me.

"Kids, stop fighting and hurry!" my dad said.

Face flushed, Sirius and I wordlessly turned to repack out trunks but the great red steam train whistled an earsplitting note, long and high, and began to pick up speed. Pizza took Serena's hand and used his other to levitate their trunks before them. They ran quickly towards the moving train. Bear barked and loped after him.

"No, Bear! Come!" he turned and sauntered back. I pulled out my wand and made to do the same as Pizza but a hand encircled my wrist.

"You're underage. We can't do magic until we're on the train," Sirius said.

"Thanks, Pizza, for waiting up!" I called after him sarcastically as they both boarded the train just in time and disappeared from sight.

I didn't realize Sirius still held my wrist until I made to pack up my trunk. He let go hastily and I thought nothing of it.

Parents of students soon filed out of the platform and our group was soon alone. I didn't even realized my father were still there until he sighed heavily behind me. "I told you you'd miss the train."

I began to repack my bag and Sirius did the same behind me. "At least you're family didn't ditch you."

"Two of them did."

"Not ALL of them, like mine."

"Great family."

He grunted in reply.

My dad began helping Sirius and I. We got them packed up and loaded them back onto a trolley.

"What do we do?" I asked Sirius as Bear began to sniff him.

"I dunno... I've never missed it before." he said and then began to laugh. Bear was licking his face.

"Ahh! Bear STOP!" I said. Bear stopped and looked at me sadly.

"No, no! I love dogs! it's fine," Sirius chuckled and scratched Bear behind the ears. His sad look disappeared and he smiled his panting smile.

"So, what's our plan of action?" my father said, stepping forward.

It was then that I saw the ugliest person I had ever seen.

Seriously.

She was stooped and old and tiny with grey hair hanging in greasy strands. Her dirty clothes hung limp on her frail body and warts and other bumps of some sort rose in groups on her face. Her skin was tanned and wrinkled and her feet shuffled forward slowly.

In other words, the definition of "hag."

I swear I heard Bear whimper.

"Are you alright?" my dad rushed forward, concerned.

"I'm fine," she growled, glaring at my dad. "You the only stragglers?"

We looked around. The platform was empty. Eerily empty compared to its normal busy, buzzing atmosphere.

"Er... Yes," I answered.

"And you really HAVE to go to Hogwarts?" she looked at me and her warts distracted me.

"Uh, yes," said Sirius.

"Ugh," she grumbled. "You make my job so hard." and she slumped over to a telephone mounted on the cement wall. I hadn't noticed it before. She dialed in a number and grumbled, "GarfunT? ... Two stragglers. ... YES, GarfuntT. They said they HAVE to go. ... No, GarfunT! JUST GET DOWN HERE!"

The hag hung up the phone and cursed, "Dwarfs."

I smiled. I hadn't ever met a dwarf but I'd heard they were extremely high energy and fun.

While we were waiting, for what I didn't know, Bear took to sniffing at the hag like she was some sort of strange new specimen. Sirius and I laughed behind our hands every time she'd curse at him. Fifteen minutes passed like this and soon I was shifting my weight impatiently like an A.D.D. child.

Until... _ZOOM!_

A silver two-car train sped along the track and came to a screeching halt. Sirius and I shared a look.

Sure enough, out hopped a short, thick boned dwarf with long brown hair and a stubbly beard.

"The name's GarfunT, your driver for today," he grinned, shaking each person's hand in our party. Except the hag's, she turned and left saying only "Don't die" which caused quite some confusion between us. She sure _acted _like she wanted us to die.

"Don't mind her, she's bitter. Kicked out of Hogwarts in year five. Long, gory story," GarfunT said warmly.

My dad looked freaked out and GarfunT looked at him strangely.

"Anyway, come on, come on, don't want to miss that great feast of your's," he said, leading us to the train door. I waved bye to my father and followed him in. Bear hopped in behind us and found his place, luxuriously stretched out on one of the benches. The train car was about the same size of two compartments placed together and a driving cart attached. Benches ran in a square along the four walls with one opening—to enter into the driver's car.

"Great thing about driving you little punctuality-challenged delinquents," he laughed. "is I get to feast with you guys. Mmm... the best roast chicken I have ever had."

Sirius stowed our trunks above our heads and stretched out on one of the extended benches.

"I should miss the train more often!" he said, I agreed. This _was_fun.

"Yeah! Then I could eat that roast chicken every time!" GarfunT said from the driver's car.

I laughed and sat as well on a bench perpendicular to Sirius's nap time bench.

"So what's the story with your tardiness, kids?" GarfunT conversed from the driver's seat.

"Just late, my dad's a muggle and insisted on driving to the station," I explained.

"My family left without me. So I had to take a stinking taxi here," Sirius said bitterly through his conjured pillow—his quidditch jersey from his trunk.

"What wrong with your family?" I asked him. I stopped. "Oooo... That came out wrong."

Sirius sat up slowly and looked me in the eye with a sad smile. "You really don't know? I thought the whole school did."

"Er... I... Erm. I'm not quite in the loop with all the juicy gossip."

"Do you remember that big fight last year during the Slytherin-Gryffindor match last year?"

"Er... I heard about it... I'm not really into quiddich..."

Sirius's jaw literally dropped and his eye brows disappeared into his hairline.

"You don't like quiddich?" he whispered.

"Not really..."

"Well you certainly don't know what you're missing."

"Ok..."

"Anyway, I am the only Gryffindor in my entire family. The rest are pureblood Slytherin radicals who hate all muggles and muggleborns."

"I'm a muggleborn," I whispered.

"I know," he said simply. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't share my family's opinions. My family hates me and I hate my family. Especially my mom. She... is a bit... erm... not quite right in the head."

"Well—I had no idea—"

"You really do live under a rock."

I stared fixedly at him. His black hair perfectly tousled, grey eyes like a smiling storm and a permanent smirk were, admittedly, extremely attractive but, I realized then and there that there was a whole other part of Sirius I had never known. Sure, I heard about his quidditch ability and womanizing jerkishness (if that's even a word) and id always seen him as far-off and never a possibility for a friend. Or boyfriend. I was never friends with the 'populars', mainly geeks and a few girls who didn't stuff their bras. I didn't ever go to quidditch games. Instead, I would explore the castle, alone except for Bear, uncovering its myriad of secrets and finding little hiding places and niches for me to run to during the week for some much needed quiet and solitude. Books and journals were my closest friends but I was never happy or content with that lifestyle. My personality was—and still is— one who craves human company. I needed laughter and friendship. I needed friends. I found one in Sirius Black.

Conversation continued on the train and the hours passed quickly and effortlessly. After a few hours, I made sure to nonchalantly move over to his bench and ride the rest of journey next to him. After explaining quidditch to me and practically black mailing me (with what he saw spill out of my trunk) to get me to go to the first quiddich game of the season, he let me bury myself in my most recent book I'm obsessed with. Not long later, I was sacked out next to him.

I awoke with my head in his lap.

I like to fantasize that he moved me next to him while I was asleep, but who knows. Then I come round to the possibility that I could have subconsciously—or worse, consciously—snuggled over to him and I literally burn with embarrassment. Seriously, my face feels like it's on fire.

When I woke up, it was dark except for some light spilling in from the driver's cart. I didn't know where I was or what was happening until Sirius said "I thought I should wake you up, we'll be there in around—GarfunT, how long?"

"Twenty minutes!" he called. "Sleeping beauty up?"

"Yeah!"

It was then that I realized I was looking up at Sirius, my face was snuggled up into his stomach, his legs were under my head and I felt a small blanket of some sort around my shoulders. But the part that scared me the most… I liked it. I was snuggled up _in_him. I burned red and, without thinking, sat up hastily, bashing our foreheads together.

"Ow! What up?" Sirius said, rubbing his forehead.

"Well I was sleeping in your lap," I saw his jersey fell off of me as I had sat up. "with your jersey as a blanket!"

"So?"

"Here's your jersey," I said handing it to him and avoiding his other question.

"Keep it," he said.

"Won't you need it? You play quiddich."

"You can just give it back before the season starts."

"I can't keep it," I said. I can't keep it because any girl who's dating a quiddich player keeps her boyfriend's jersey. Unless I did _more _strange things during that nap, I was pretty sure I wasn't Sirius Black's girlfriend.

"Why? What's the big deal? It's my quiddich jersey."

I didn't have an answer that wasn't awkward so I stuck with "Erm...". Always a good choice. I tossed his jersey into my purse and zipped it shut. Sirius laughed and said, "So, Yeah. You curled right up next to me and fell asleep."

"Nooooo..." I debated, defending my honor. "I fell asleep reading."

"Did you?"

It was fuzzy... I didn't know. I didn't want to know. I didn't trust that my half-asleep self wouldn't curl up with Sirius like a teddy bear. This gave me a good subject change opportunity so I said, "Hey! Where's Bear?"

"He's taken a certain liking to GarfunT up there," he said pointing up the train. "Been laying up there for a long time while GarfunT sings him dwarf songs."

Leave it to Bear, the socialite, to make friends with _ev-ery-body._

And then, for the first time in my entire life, I wished I was more like Bear.

Then I burst out laughing, and Sirius gave me that "I sure hope you're not a psychopath because I'm stuck on a moving train with you" look.

And I just smiled.

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